Landers walk off on Heroes to move within one win of Korean Series title
Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers hits a two-run home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 5 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on Nov. 7. Yonhap
Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers hits a two-run home run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the eighth inning of Game 5 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, 30 kilometers west of Seoul, on Nov. 7. Yonhap
Powered by an improbable ninth-inning comeback, the SSG Landers moved to the brink of the 2022 South Korean baseball title on Monday with a 5-4 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes.
Pinch hitter Kim Kang-min smacked a three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in Game 5 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field, just west of Seoul, capping off the Landers' rally from a 4-0 deficit on this rainy night.
The Landers will take a 3-2 lead into Game 6, the first elimination game in this best-of-seven series, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Incheon.
The Landers' franchise has won four Korean Series titles, all of them in their previous incarnation as the SK Wyverns in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2018. They became the Landers in early 2021.
The Heroes, who joined the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) in 2008, have never won a Korean Series title. They were the runners-up in 2014 and 2019.
The Heroes wasted no time getting to starter Kim Kwang-hyun, as Kim Tae-jin's two-out single cashed in two runs in the top of the first. That hit followed a walk and a double given up by Kim Kwang-hyun in a wild first inning.
The Heroes tacked on a run in the second inning, though they could have had more after loading the bases with nobody out on a double, a walk and a single.
That lone run came courtesy of Kim Jun-wan's sacrifice fly. Then with runners still at first and second, Jeon Byeong-woo grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to let Kim Kwang-hyun off the hook.
While Kim was all over the place with his pitches, his counterpart, An Woo-jin, was sharp early on. He was perfect through three innings with four strikeouts. (Yonhap)